Removal of snow and ice from vehicles with conventional ice scrapers and brushes is a particularly arduous task that is often accomplished under cold uncomfortable conditions. Scraping ice requires one to exert a downward force on a scraper while sliding the scraper across the windshield. Brushing snow requires one to reciprocate a brush back and forth to remove the snow from the hood and windshield. Due to the size of vehicles and reach of typical persons, there are often places that cannot be reached or that are difficult to reach while applying the force and motion necessary for removing snow and ice. Moreover, the manual manipulation of conventional scrapers and brushes often results in snow and ice ending up on the person's clothing, which provides a disincentive for removing snow and ice from large areas and hard to reach areas. These factors often result in a less than satisfactory removal of snow and ice from vehicles which presents a potential operational hazard.
In other related applications, motorized surface engaging apparatus for scrubbing, sweeping, cleaning and engaging are generally known such as those shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,495,632, 5,221,229, 5,309,597, 5,809,602. These patents generally disclose that a surface engaging head mounted on a carrier can be motorized to reduce manual labor necessary for engaging a surface. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,632, different cleaning heads can be interchangeably attached to the end of the motorized apparatus. However, changing heads takes time and often tools to change the heads. Moreover, idle heads can often be misplaced or lost when not attached to the motorized apparatus.